First Day of a Second Life
by JRCash
Summary: Post-A New Hope. The Alliance celebrates the destruction of the death star. Events of the evening lead Leia and Han to begin to face emotions between them. Rated M to be on the safe side for mild language/situations. One-shot story. Slightly reworked March 2016.
_**Disclaimer:**_ _I do not own these characters, I just make them do stuff. I do not profit from this in any way, shape or form._

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _This story takes place post A New Hope. Figured the Alliance would want to celebrate the destruction of the first death star._

Leia scanned the room. She had a moment to herself finally, a silence falling around her even as the noise in the room ebbed around her. The evening had been one conversation after another, a constant flurry of people surrounding her, Luke and Han. A swirl of people clapping their hands across Luke and Han's shoulders, a sea of various voices sending congratulations to the pair. She had spent most the evening in their company, but barely able to speak to them, every chance interrupted by another round of well wishers or curious questions wanting to know details of the battle. The trio was unable to break free from the spot they were in for what seemed like an eternity.

She looked down at the glass of wine in her hand and swished the small amount of crystal liquid left at the bottom before taking the glass to her lips, draining the remaining contents. She noticed Luke across the room as she lowered the now empty glass from her mouth. He was surrounded by base personnel, their voices loud as they almost in sequence tapped their shot glasses against the top of a table before the group of men downed them simultaneously. A loud roar echoed among the group, Luke's face red with mixture of laughter and liquor. She turned and placed her glass on the table behind her before leaning back, her palms resting behind her on the table edge. She thought for a second about making her way to Luke and his new friends but decided against it, thinking it would be best to leave Luke to himself. She had little interest in taking shots with a group of notoriously rowdy boys anyways.

Her attention wandered, her eyes glancing across the room once again taking in her moment of solitude. She smiled to herself, the room had an air of excitement throughout it. The joy of the destruction of the Death Star still providing a welcomed moment of celebration to the Alliance. She knew that there was still many more difficult years ahead of them before the galaxy would be free from the Empire, but to see everyone in such a good mood was a reassurance that progress was being made. She looked past the groups of smiling faces, troops talking among themselves, laughter echoing thru the music that played in the room. She spotted Han near the back corner of the room. His back was to her, he was involved in a conversation with Wedge Antilles and a group of people she did not immediately recognize.

Her gaze was lost on Han for a moment, her thoughts wandering back the awards ceremony. The way he swaggered down the aisle towards her, the way his blaster belt moved with his hips as he neared her. The way he smiled his lopsided smile at her as he reached the steps, it taking everything in her power not to blush as she smiled back at him as she tried to focus on her task of placing his award around his neck. She caught the wink he gave her as her eyes met his. _That lopsided grin of his, the way he could just simply wink and my knees almost gave out right then._ She couldn't deny that she found Han incredibly attractive, despite his annoying air of smugness that seemed to shroud him at all times or his stubbornness, never willing to back down to her. She could hardly think straight around him sometimes, her eyes often wandering to his muscular arms, how his shirt and his bloodstripes hugged his body, the way his hair fell in his face sometimes, her fingers longing to push it back from his hazel eyes.

Han took a long sip from his glass, the Corellian whiskey going down easy and smooth. He had already had quite a bit to drink that evening, the excitement of the celebration catching him off guard. He never intended to end up here, his change of heart a last moment decision that ended up with his normally calloused and independent smuggler self actually happy that for once he didn't take his credits and dart back into space. Jabba could wait on his repayment for just awhile longer. He was glad he had gained a friend in Luke, unable to leave the kid behind in what would have been certain death for him. Then there was Leia.

His thoughts wandered on the idea of her name for a moment. There was something about her. He thought back to the ceremony, the way her dress hinted to her curves, the way she smiled at him coyly as she leaned close to him to place the medal around him. Not to say he hadn't thought she was beautiful since the first moment he laid eyes on her, even if she was yelling at him as she ordered him into a garbage chute as blaster fire rang out around them. _But she is still a Princess, remember? A princess and a guy like yourself isn't ever going to happen._ He snapped his thoughts back to reality, glancing back to the group he was standing among. He took another swallow of whiskey, trying shake Leia from his mind. He looked up and noticed a woman now stood amongst the group. She was slim with long auburn hair and milky pale skin. She wore a form fitting dark blue evening dress that was tight on her in all the right places and seemed to shimmer under the lights of the room. She smiled gently towards Han. Wedge nudged Han's arm with his elbow.

"I don't believe you've met Captain Te'gan Bokiana. She's been helping the Alliance now for a few weeks" Wedge announced.

Her green eyes, as deep as emeralds, met his for a moment.

"I'm Captain Han Solo. Nice to meet you" Han muttered as he extended his hand to her, her fingers easily wrapping around his in a firm handshake.

"Pleasure to meet you too, Captain. I've heard you were quite the hero in battle" her voice smoothly stated.

"Ah, just helping out a friend. Luke's the one who made a one in a million shot". He tried to play off his contribution coolly. He didn't feel as though he was a hero. He felt uncomfortable at her mention of the word.

"That makes you a very good friend then" she smiled at him.

Wedge clapped his hand against Han's shoulder as he turned to another group of men behind them and joined their conversation quickly, leaving Han and Te'gan alone. Han shifted his weight from one foot to another and glanced towards her.

"So, Captain, huh?" he asked, a tone of smugness heavy in his words.

"Mmhmm". She took a long sip of her drink. "I do runs for the Alliance" she replied, trying to not divulge too much information to him.

"I see. So you're a smuggler of sorts" Han cockily stated. He couldn't help to blatantly call her out on what she really was doing, he could have spotted it from a million parsecs away.

She let out a small laugh, surprised at how quickly he caught onto her. "I guess it takes one to know one". She pushed her hair behind her ear and glanced at him.

Han's head swirled from the whiskey. He looked back at Te'gan, noticing how her hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders, the long reddish locks flowing down her chest. He noticed her pale skin, the tops of her breasts peeking from the low neckline of her dress. He let out a lopsided grin as he pulled his attention back to her face.

"Can I get you another drink?" he asked, his mind still trying to refocus itself.

"Sure" she replied as she passed her empty glass to him. "Double whiskey please, on the rocks".

He chuckled to himself as he took her glass. _Quite the drink order this girl has_ he thought to himself as he turned to make his way to the bar. He made his way thru the crowd, scanning the room looking to see where Leia and Luke were. He couldn't find them in the crowd, shaking the thought of them from his mind as he reached the bar. _I'm sure they are fine, if they wanted my company they would have found me._

Han returned to find Te'gan had sat herself at a small table. He placed her drink in front of her before taking a seat across from her. She took a long sip of her whiskey, her eyes closing slightly, Han seizing the opportunity to take in a long stare at her chest again. He hadn't been with a woman in quite some time, months before arriving in Mos Eisley and accepting the job from Obi-Wan and getting himself tangled into this war. _Long before I ever could dream of a woman like Leia._ His thoughts in a rare moments he found himself alone since their first meeting would often to wander to Leia, wondering what she looked like under her dress, what her body would feel if it was pressed against his. _Those were all just fantasies though_ , he thought to himself. _Remember, Solo, Princesses don't go after scoundrels. She's just your friend and there's no way in hells she would ever give into your kind._ _The damn farm boy probably has a better chance with her at this point then you do._

* * *

Leia had been pulled into a conversation with General Rieekan and a few other higher officials, her moment alone ending abruptly as she quickly returned to her diplomatic self, making small talk about Alliance matters with the men. She glanced back in Han's direction and noticed him sitting with a girl she had never seen around the Alliance before. She could tell, even across the room, she was pretty but had a certain outer rim cheapness about her. Her dress was tight and low cut, the fabric just slightly too tight around her breasts and hips. A pang of jealousy shot thru her as she noticed Han laughing at something she said, her fingertips gently brushing against his arm from across the table. _Why am I jealous? Because he's talking to some girl? He has every right to do whatever he wants. What makes me think that he would only pay attention to you? He's a scoundrel, a cocky smuggler. Obviously he tries to charm all the girls._ She couldn't look away from him though, the girl still giggling as she threw her hair over her shoulders, her chair now pulled close to his, the table no longer separating them. Watching the girl's hand gently rest itself against Han's thigh as his arm casually draped itself across the back of her chair made Leia pulse with anger.

"Princess, what do you think of the matter? " One of the official's voices broke her gaze, snapping her back to the realization she was still mid conversation with the group, so lost in her own mind, she hadn't a clue of what matter the man was speaking of.

Her stomach felt tight and she could feel her face growing hot as she tried to suppress her anger at what she had just witnessed.

"I'm sorry, gentleman. You are going to have to excuse me for a moment" she quickly sputtered, trying to keep her voice as professional as she could while holding back the tears she felt welling in her eyes. She turned and made her way thru the crowd, trying to get away from the room as quickly as possible. She stopped in the hallway, finally a safe enough distance away from the party, her breath heavy as she leaned against the wall. _Why am I so upset?_ Her mind raced back to her earlier thoughts. _You're nothing to him. But why the wink? The way he smiled at me? Why did he come back in the first place?_ Han's words of how he initially thought the mission was suicide rang out in her mind. _But he came back. He proved that there was more to him than money._

* * *

Han felt Te'gan's hand rest against his thigh, her fingers tracing up and down it slowly as she glanced over at Han, her green eyes meeting his. She leaned closer to him, the spiciness of the whiskey lingering on her breath.

"What do you say we go somewhere a little quieter?" she whispered into his ear, his fingers tracing themselves dangerously high up his thigh as she spoke.

"Yeah, we can do that" he replied, his words smooth as the whiskey they had been drinking.

Han followed Te'gan out of the room and down another hallway that lead towards the hanger. She paused for a moment and turned towards him, smiling as she stepped close to him, pushing his back up against the wall. She kissed him deeply, her arms wrapping around his waist. His head buzzed from the liquor and at the forcefulness of her kiss. He held her hips and kissed her back, momentarily enjoying the touch of a woman's lips against his. She pulled away, her fingers against his waist playfully tracing along his blaster belt.

"Just you wait til we get back to my ship, I'll show you a real good time, Captain" she purred as she began kissing his neck, nipping at his skin as she sucked playfully towards his shirt collar. She tilted her head up towards his lips for another kiss, stumbling slightly, her drunken state becoming more obvious. Han grasped her sides as she steadied herself, giggling slightly as she pushed her hair out of her face. She tried to kiss him again but Han abruptly turned his head to the side to avoid her kiss. He suddenly couldn't get the idea of Leia out of his mind. He let his grasp on her go as she took a step back from him, a puzzled look on her face.

"I don't think I can do this" Han said as he smoothed his hair away from his forehead as he looked at her.

"What? You got a girlfriend or something?" Te'gan asked, her tone of voice hinting at annoyance at his sudden change of plans for them.

"No, nothing like that" _I'd much rather be in this situation with a Princess not some random girl._ "I'm just…we're just both pretty drunk" he fumbled over his words, trying to make up an excuse. He just wanted to be gone, removed from this whole situation, forgetting it ever happened.

"So? " she laughed. She went to touch his arm again, Han pulling his hand behind his head quickly. He began rubbing the back of his neck, partially out of nervousness, never having dealt with a situation such as this one before.

"Look, you are very pretty but it's just not going to happen". Han was surprised at his own words. Prior to meeting Leia, he didn't care how drunk he was, he would never think twice about turning down an easy invitation for sex, especially after a long spell of not having it. Something about Leia though, even just the thought of her made him feel as though as if he did give into his carnal desire for an easy fuck from this girl in front of him now, he would regret it.

"I'm sorry" he quickly muttered before turning on his heel to begin making his way back to the Falcon.

Te'gan blankly stared at him walking away for a second, still confused at why he could possibly be turning her down, his footsteps fading away towards the hanger.

* * *

Leia woke in her bunk the next morning, still in her dress from the night before. She never returned to the party, instead laying alone in her bunk staring at the ceiling in the dark. She cried at first, tears rolling down her cheeks wondering if Han was having a good time with whoever that girl was. She figured he was probably on the Falcon by then doing all sorts of things with her. After she had cried all of the tears she possibly could have cried, she lay in the silent bunk and grew angry with herself. _Why am I letting some smuggler get to me like this? I'm crying over a man who told me flat out he was only in this for the money, not my revolution. But he came back. He came back for Luke...and for me? She knew Han cared about them, but in a way a friend would care for someone. But the way he looked at me, that wink of his._ She couldn't shake the feeling she had when she looked at him during the ceremony. _I'm a princess and an Alliance leader and here I am confused and crying about a common smuggler. What is happening with me?_

She pulled herself from her bed and undressed from her gown from the night before, changing into a simple Alliance issued shirt and work pants. She pulled hair pins from her hair, setting them onto the table near her bed and letting down her braids. She raked her fingers thru her hair before re-braiding it loosely at the nape of her neck. She then twisted the braid around the crown of her head, securing it tightly with a few of the pins. She was hungry, hardly getting a chance to eat the night before due to talking to so many people and then her abrupt departure. She grabbed her data pad and made her way from her bunk to the mess hall.

* * *

The mess hall was fairly empty, save for a few groups of various troops dotting the tables, talking and eating among themselves. She grabbed a rations bar and a small carton of veeji juice before turning to make her way back to an empty table in the far corner. She sat quietly by herself, unwrapping the rations bar and took a bite, chewing slowly as she flipped thru her data pad. She heard footsteps approaching her, a certain familiarity to them. She glanced up and saw Han standing in front of her.

 _Oh gods. Is this really happening right now?_

He smiled at her, his hand resting against the edge of chair.

"Morning, Princess. Mind some company?" Han asked.

 _Yes, I mind you laser brained bantha. You are the last person in the galaxy right now I want to eat breakfast with_ her mind screamed at him. She didn't want to let on anything was wrong though, not willing to show any weakness around him, let alone any for him.

"Not at all" she replied in her most calm and diplomatic tone.

He pulled the chair from the table and casually sat down across from her, opening a ration bar of his own and taking a bite. She couldn't help to notice a small red mark on his neck below his shirt collar, the sight of it infuriating her, just the thought of how it got there enough to make her want to slap him from across the table.

Leia watched him as he chewed, her eyes narrowed at him slightly, still struggling to contain her anger at him. _Did the Wookiee raise you?_ _Chew with your mouth shut flyboy._

"I hardly got to speak to you last night, it was a bit overwhelming having so many people wanting to talk to us all at once". Han swallowed the remaining bit of rations bar as he looked at Leia sitting across from him. _Never would have thought there was someone as beautiful as her in this whole galaxy, even in that military issued shirt, she's somehow stunning._

"You and Luke are heroes, everyone's going to want to talk to you" she coolly replied.

"No need to call me that"

"Captain Solo, I wasn't aware you were capable of being humble. Figured the hero title would have stroked your ego to a whole new level"

"Princess, I didn't come back to be celebrated. You know, I'm not a heartless bastard, as much as it seems you like to think I am".

She stared at him, words escaping her for a moment.

"How would you like to come back to the Falcon and I'll make you a decent breakfast? These things hardly count as a meal". He crumpled the wrapper from his ration bar in his hand as he looked towards Leia, a lopsided grin forming in the corners of his mouth.

 _Back to the Falcon?_ Her mind raced. She wanted to accept his offer but at the same time, she wondered why in the hells he was asking her to join him.

"I'm sorry, Captain Solo, I've got work to do". She tried to distract herself by glancing back at her data pad, tapping the screen to re-activate it, knowing if she looked at him she might give in.

"You sure, Princess? I promise, I'm not a bad cook".

Her stomach rumbled at the thought of an actual cooked meal. She had grown accustomed to Alliance rations, bland re-hydrated glop that never tasted much like anything other than substance to get thru the day on. Her eyes parted from her data pad and looked back at Han, his hazel eyes meeting hers. _That smirk of his, why does he have to look at me like that?_

"I suppose this work could wait for a bit. An actual meal does sound good for once".

* * *

Leia leaned against a cabinet in the Falcon's galley, casually observing Han as he worked. He finished cracking gartro eggs into a bowl and began whisking the contents effortlessly before pouring them into a waiting pan on the stove. A couple of nerf sausages sizzled in an adjacent pan, filling the galley with a spicy aroma that only made her stomach rumble more. Han turned to reach for something in an upper cabinet, his movement exposing the red mark on his neck again. Leia couldn't help to glare at it before his arm lowered again, the mark disappearing back behind his shirt collar. _What in the hells am I doing here? I'm ogling this smuggler like a schoolgirl and he's marked up by his latest conquest. Probably only knows how to cook because he thinks it will impress girls._ She couldn't bite her tongue any longer, surprised at herself she had held it so long around him in the first place.

"So, did you have a good time last night at the party?" she asked.

Han stirred the eggs in the pan before looking up at her, surprised she had finally broken her silence. She hadn't said much since they had gotten back to his ship, other than a few one word replies to his questions about her food preferences. _Does she like scrambled eggs? Yes. Bacon or sausage? Either is fine. A cup of caf? Sure_. His mind replayed their morning together. _Why is she being so cold towards me? I'm just trying to be a nice guy here, I hardly ever see her eat._

"Yeah. It was alright. Definitely drank a little too much but nowhere near the level Luke was at. He's probably going to spend most of today face down in his cot" he replied.

Leia laughed, knowing the reputation some of the personnel had around the Alliance, only wondering how long Luke managed to keep up with them.

"I saw you talking with Wedge Antilles. I didn't get a chance to speak with him all night. How is he?" She carefully danced around the issue of directly asking him about the girl, but she figured Wedge was a safe enough bet to possibly get him to mention something about her seeing that the last time she saw him with a group of people it included him.

"He's good. I like that guy. Figured out we were from the same hemisphere on Corellia". Han turned back to the stove and stirred the pan of eggs again, noting that they were done. He switched off the burners to the stove and placed the food on two plates, handing one to Leia.

"We can sit at the holo chess table. Sorry I don't have anywhere else".

* * *

Leia took a bite of her breakfast, savoring the actual flavor of real food for once. She wished she could forget all of her table manners and the fact there was an attractive Corellian sitting across from her and shovel the food into her mouth as quickly as she possibly could. She carefully cut herself a piece of sausage, gently spearing it with her fork as she had been trained to do so as a child in her manners classes. _A proper princess never eats with her fingers or makes too much noise when using utensils_ her teacher's voice from long ago floated thru her head.

Han watched her eat for a moment, surprised at how reserved she was being despite her obvious hunger. He still wondered why she was being so distant with him.

"Did you enjoy yourself last night?" he asked in an attempt to break the silence between them.

Leia head swirled with thoughts at his question. _Did I enjoy myself? You nerf herder, do you think I enjoyed crying my eyes out over you one moment and then wanting to blast you the next, all while completely confused at myself of why I felt like doing either?_

"I suppose. It was nice seeing the Alliance in good spirits for once".

"Is everything you think about work related?" he chuckled.

"No" she flatly replied.

"Then how come you keep giving me these diplomatic answers? You're not at work right now, I'm not some Senator or Official you have to reply politely to all the time. I'm a friend, you can be yourself around me".

"What happened to your neck?". The words spilled from her lips, unable to be contained any longer. _If I'm your "friend" you can tell me then. Just be yourself around me, Solo_ she mocked his words in her mind as she awaited his reply.

Han's mind raced, her question catching him off guard. _What in the hells do I tell her?_ It was a very obvious hickey on his neck, he noticed it himself immediately after he stepped from the shower and looked at himself in the refresher mirror earlier in the morning. He had cursed at himself for ever letting things go that far with that girl from the night before, wishing he had never even spoken to her in the first place. He couldn't even remember her name, something starting with a T maybe? Or was it a V? He didn't know and didn't care one way or another. He would have normally not have felt the way he did now about the mark. He probably would have been sitting with a group of pilots in the mess hall boasting about it if Leia didn't exist in his life, adding in all the other details of the night that would have played out if Leia wasn't in his thoughts stopping him from progressing further with whatever her name was. _Just tell her the truth_ he thought, confused at himself for even coming up with that idea.

Han shifted his weight in his seat, completely uncomfortable at the fact he was about to fess up to Leia, the woman he dreamed about and wanted more than words could ever describe, that some other girl had been all over him the night before. His conscious wrestled with itself. Part of him wanted to just tell her the truth, the other part telling him to just make up a lie, it was none of her business to know what he did in his free time.

"Corellian whiskey makes me do some stupid things sometimes" he stated, hoping she would just dismiss the whole matter.

"Mhmm" she casually replied, trying to make sense of his reply. She set her fork down and looked at him, his face obviously nervous for a reason she couldn't exactly place. _Was he regretting what he had done with that girl? Captain cocky and so sure of himself actually having a second thought about something?_

"That girl must have really wanted a piece of you to leave a mark like that" she added, her words snarkily escaping her.

Han sighed. _Is she jealous? Upset at me?_ He couldn't tell what emotion she was trying to convey to him at the moment, trying to suppress a mild excitement that Leia actually might care enough about him to be bothered with the fact another woman had wanted him.

"She was drunk and didn't know what she was doing. I left her before things could get out of hand'.

"Somehow I don't believe you" she scoffed.

"I swear on Chewbacca, nothing happened between us". His face was stern, his brow narrowed as he looked at her directly in her deep brown eyes.

His hazel eyes pierced into hers, his expression more serious than she had even seen it before, all air of arrogance gone from around him. _He really isn't lying to me_ she thought to herself. _He really did come back to his ship alone last night._

"Okay, I believe you" she admitted, hating that she had shown weakness to him, but relieved in the fact he had told her the truth, a certain trust between them silently establishing itself.

Leia glanced at the clock on the wall behind Han, surprised that she had been with him for so long.

"I'm sorry, but I have to get going. Thank you for the breakfast". She didn't want to leave, but she knew she had quite a bit of work to attend to, the Alliance depending on the reports she needed to complete. She stood from the holo chess table, reaching for her plate.

"Allow me, Princess" Han reached for her plate, taking it from her hand and stacking it on top of his own as he rose from his chair. "Maybe you'll come by again for another meal" he suggested.

"That'd be nice" she smiled as she turned to make her way to the Falcon's ramp.


End file.
